For the hundreth time; What's your favorite SMiLE section?

[Sheriff John Stone]

Our Prayer - simply the best a capella vocals ever recorded anywhere by anyone ever. EVER.

Absolutely. And Brian WROTE something like that. I never get tired of it. I'm starting to agree with Cam's post; they're ALL my favorites!

[Wrightfan]

I really like the (double?) rest after the first section of "I Love to Say Da-Da."

Speaking of Da Da, there's a fragment that only appears on one of the session takes after the section with the baritone vocals, where basically there's a lot of pounding on the piano and a weird effect on another keyboard as well as some drum fills. Most likely just the take breaking down, but fun to hear anyway.

Yeah I've heard that. Interesting but it's probably just the track breaking down.

[Jay]

Personally, I've always loved the xylophone(?), drums, and piano "up tempo" version of the "Eat a lot, sleep a lot...." Vega-Tables section.

[rogerlancelot]

"Who Ran The Iron Horse?" pops up for me first. I don't think I have yet heard a SMiLE section that didn't make my jaw drop upon first listening.

[Jay]

I don't know about jaws dropping, but the first time I heard that high violin note in Child Is Father Of The Man, it nearly caused an...um...."emission". 

[rogerlancelot]

I don't know about jaws dropping, but the first time I heard that high violin note in Child Is Father Of The Man, it nearly caused an...um...."emission". 

That happened to me the first time I really listened to "God Only Knows"!

[Jay]

I don't know about jaws dropping, but the first time I heard that high violin note in Child Is Father Of The Man, it nearly caused an...um...."emission". 

That happened to me the first time I really listened to "God Only Knows"!

The "I wanna cry" part in You Still Believe In Me does it to me every time. 

[rogerlancelot]

I don't know about jaws dropping, but the first time I heard that high violin note in Child Is Father Of The Man, it nearly caused an...um...."emission". 

That happened to me the first time I really listened to "God Only Knows"!

The "I wanna cry" part in You Still Believe In Me does it to me every time. 

Okay. The whole of "Don't Talk" does it for me. Just don't tell anybody.

[Surfer Joe]

It's always funny to me to hear people single out these "moments", and they're never the same as mine or the next guy's.  That's a funny thing about real wired-into-the-DNA Beach Boys fanatics that I think is close to being unique.

I remember having a conversation like this with a guy years ago, way before the 'net, and he singled out- I think it was- an a cappella  bit in "The Man With All The Toys".  Just flat did it for him, every time. Totally floored me, because it was something I never would have thought of, but I instantly knew from that that he was a real-deal fan like us. No one else would have come up with that.  A casual fan names "Good Vibrations" or "God Only Knows", but that one...and I had something just as off-road as that in the same conversation- can't remember what. 

My theory is that every real fanatic has something like that somewhere deep in the catalogue, that no one else would have picked out or even thought of, but if he mentions it, the other guy will say "oh, yeaaaaaahhhh...." Then you hear it differently, and get into it just a little more next time because someone sanctified it like that.  I don't know if Who fans or Rolling Stone fans do that.

[Zack]

How about when Wind Chimes bursts to life at 1:16 and slowly breaks back down?

[Dunderhead]

It's always funny to me to hear people single out these "moments", and they're never the same as mine or the next guy's.  That's a funny thing about real wired-into-the-DNA Beach Boys fanatics that I think is close to being unique.

I remember having a conversation like this with a guy years ago, way before the 'net, and he singled out- I think it was- an a cappella  bit in "The Man With All The Toys".  Just flat did it for him, every time. Totally floored me, because it was something I never would have thought of, but I instantly knew from that that he was a real-deal fan like us. No one else would have come up with that.  A casual fan names "Good Vibrations" or "God Only Knows", but that one...and I had something just as off-road as that in the same conversation- can't remember what.  

My theory is that every real fanatic has something like that somewhere deep in the catalogue, that no one else would have picked out or even thought of, but if he mentions it, the other guy will say "oh, yeaaaaaahhhh...." Then you hear it differently, and get into it just a little more next time because someone sanctified it like that.  I don't know if Who fans or Rolling Stone fans do that.

Ha. That really sums it up. I don't know a single person who really knows anything about The Beach Boys. I've run into hipsters in college that would laud Pet Sounds, but then you launch into how Friends is the real masterpiece and they have no idea.

Edit: I'm now listening to Man With All the Toys and I'm really enjoying it, but I went so long without giving it a second thought.

[The Heartical Don]

"I had to consult a psychologist eventually."

Change your friends.

I did, seriously. And musical taste had something to do with it, although not everything, of course.

It's a bit like this. These guys were 1st, 2nd year fellow students. It wasn't about longterm friendships yet. Tastes were hugely different. Later in those years, it turned out that we had less in common than we initially thought. Is natural. We liked different movies, different music, different books (some did not read anything much at all). I think liking the BBs is part of what I am. As is liking 'film noir', good comedy, Melville, Twain, Hawthorne.

Friendship can endure quite different predilections. But the sum total of all one's tastes has too little in common with that of another person, then a friendship will wither away. It can be quite a painful process, by the way. To make it known that you can't 'go along' too much anymore.

[grillo]

The end of cabin-essence for sure. I used to take the inst. version with me to stores when checking out new stereos, just to make sure they could reproduce it correctly!
Besides that I really enjoy all of the music in Wind Chimes, Surf's Up and oh sh*t, I guess just about all the rest too.

[Runaways]

in BWPS, the last minute of Heroes and Villains.  that moment when it transitions to the strings. ugh. just one of my fav music moments ever

[MBE]

When it comes to Smile (or anything really) I like hearing the relatively complete fragments more then the session tapes. Heroes and Villians is really great, but the original 45 isn't my favorite version. For instance I like how Heroes was arranged in 2004 but enjoy the 1966-67 recordings of those various parts far more. Maybe it was best when performed in the early seventies live.

[Chris Brown]

When it comes to Smile (or anything really) I like hearing the relatively complete fragments more then the session tapes. Heroes and Villians is really great, but the original 45 isn't my favorite version. For instance I like how Heroes was arranged in 2004 but enjoy the 1966-67 recordings of those various parts far more. Maybe it was best when performed in the early seventies live.

I'm in the same boat, to a degree.  The older recordings of Heroes sound infinitely better to my ears, but I've never been a fan of the mix that they released (the chorus is awful, in my opinion, and the "la la la" part seems like filler).  I think the Cantina version is just about perfect, although I like the ending sections of the single mix too..."my children were raised" right up until the chorus starts again. 

[Mr. Cohen]

Interesting, I love the single mix. Whereas the cantina mix makes me think of a trippy Western movie, the single mix makes me think of an old black & white Disney cartoon. One day, I'll make those "Heroes and Villains" and "A Day in the Life of a Tree"theatrical plays I've always been dreaming of.

[Runaways]

i love all versions of Heroes and Villains in some way. 

but i really really love the 04 one for that last minute.  and that bass harmonica.  and that cello in the chorus.  I still might take the PC one as my fav cause of the vocals.  relaly tough.

i have trouble picking my fav songs from smile cause i love parts from the originals, then parts from BWPS.  and i really need both.  Admittedly BWPS smile didn't do much for me till i heard the PC version. (i'm young, it went over my head in 04).  those voices back then brought out the melodies.  but then the instrumentation on BWPS is so good. and i prefer the wonderful from then. sigh. whatevs.

[buddhahat]

The magic bits for me are:

In the Cantina
The horn break in Look, and the recovered clarinet melody in BWPS Look too.
The slow bit in Child - mind blowing
Barnyard
The keen a wok a poo la bit from worms.
Fade to vegetables
And Grand coulee section of course is just phenomenal.

Also I love the Tag to Heroes part one, which sounds like Do A Lot. It just sounds so smile and I wish they'd incorporated it into BWPS. It really continues that bicycle rider thing (even if 'Bicycle Rider'  is just supposed to refer to a deck of cards or whatever - it definitely sounds like a bicycle to me)